Provençal Fritillary

Provençal Fritillary
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Melitaea
Species:	M. deione
Binomial name
Melitaea deione Geyer, 1832
Synonyms
Mellicta deione

The Provençal Fritillary, Melitaea deione, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in south-western Europe and North Africa. The range extends from the Iberian Peninsula to southern France and the Alps in Switzerland and Italy. It is also found in the Atlas Mountains.

Mating

There are two generations per year with adults on wing from April to September. In the Alps, there is one generation.

The larva feeds on species of Linaria, Chaenorrhinum, Digitalis and Antirrhinum (including Antirrhinum sempervirens).

Subspecies

There are three subspecies:

• M. d. deione
• M. d. berisalii (Rühl, 1891)
• M. d. nitida (Oberthür, 1909) (West Morocco (Rif Mts), West Algeria (Tlemcen, Sebdou))

External links

• Leps It